Zheng Ming lay in bed, feeling as if his body were being pricked with needles; it was exceedingly difficult to even move his arm.
It seemed that Zheng Hu's punch really wasn't easy to endure!
As thoughts flickered through his mind, Zheng Ming wanted to check his Prestige Points, which was his last thought at the threshing ground.
Regrettably, just as his thought turned to Prestige Points, the Inner Strength that surged into his body acted up again, and afterwards, he felt darkness before his eyes and his body collapsed.
He seemed to have fallen onto someone, so he didn't fall onto the ground.
Whose body had he fallen onto? Zheng Ming tried hard to recall, but he couldn't remember at all; the only sensation he remembered was that it was soft, quite comfortable.
Let's not think about that for now, better check the Prestige Points first.
As thoughts quickly passed through Zheng Ming's mind, and just as he was about to summon the Prestige Points in his head, he heard someone say cheerfully, "Second Young Master, have you woken up?"
Zheng Ming looked up and saw Li Xiaoduo looking at him with a joyful face, her eyes filled with exhaustion, clearly having taken care of him for quite some time.
"Second Young Master, the mistress watched over you all night and has just gone back to rest!"
"That's right, the Young Mistress also... also watched over you the whole night and has just gone back to rest!"
The way Li Xiaoduo spoke made Zheng Ming want to laugh, and he interrupted her, "I'd believe it if you said my mother watched over me all night, but do you really believe Fu Yuqing stayed with me the whole night?"
For a moment, Li Xiaoduo's little hands gripped her sash, then her face turned red and she said, "The Young Mistress is very worried about you as well."
Zheng Ming smiled and was just about to speak when hurried footsteps sounded from outside, and Duanyang Ying came in, pulling Zheng Xiaoxuan along.
"You little rascal, have you grown too bold, how could you possibly be Zheng Hu's match, and yet you traded blows with him!" After giving Zheng Ming a thorough look, Duanyang Ying scolded him sternly.
"Are you itching for a beating? If you dare to do it again, be careful or I'll break your legs!"
Listening to the concerned reprimands, Zheng Ming felt very comfortable, and with a smile towards Duanyang Ying he said, "I understand, don't worry."
"Second brother, you're amazing!" Zheng Xiaoxuan didn't care about her mother's scolding of Zheng Ming, and while she spoke, she propped up Zheng Ming's face with her plump little hands and gave it a hard kiss.
Zheng Ming, seeing the little stars in Zheng Xiaoxuan's eyes, couldn't resist the urge to reach out and mess up her hair.
But the warmth of that moment made him somewhat forget his injuries, and as he reached out his hand, he felt unbearable pain in his arm.
Although Zheng Ming bore it without making a sound, the stabbing pain still made him involuntarily furrow his brows.
"Xiaoming, don't move for now, take this Peiyuan Pill and rest for half a month, and you should be able to recover," Zheng Heng walked in holding a porcelain bottle made of white jade.
Peiyuan Pill, an elixir for healing internal injuries, valued at twenty thousand Taels of Silver per pill.
Zheng Ming looked at the small bottle in Zheng Heng's hand and felt moved, although the Zheng family wasn't poor, just relying on the town's tax revenue, the sum of twenty thousand Taels of Silver was not a small amount for the Zheng family.
Especially three months ago, to help Zheng Heng advance to Eleventh Rank successfully, the family had bought three Yellow Earth Pills from the Medicine King Pavilion, and that purchase alone exhausted the family's savings and even left them in debt to the Medicine King Pavilion.
Peiyuan Pills were even more valuable than Yellow Earth Pills—what did his father use to buy them?
Zheng Ming, looking at the dark purple elixir, didn't open his mouth, but instead asked in a deep voice, "Big brother, how did we get this Peiyuan Pill?"
Zheng Heng's face twitched, and sweat dripped down directly. Just when he didn't know what to say, Duanyang Ying scolded Zheng Ming, "How did it come? Of course, we bought it, now swallow the pill quickly and get well sooner!"
As she spoke, Duanyang Ying took the purple pill and stretched her palm in front of Zheng Ming, "Are you going to open your mouth yourself, or shall I pry it open like when you were little?"
Zheng Ming, who had lived through two lifetimes, naturally wouldn't let Duanyang Ying pry his mouth open, so in the end, he obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the Peiyuan Pill.
"Alright, have a good sleep, and once the medicine spreads, you'll be able to get out of bed," Duanyang Ying said, waving her hand to the others, leading the way out of the room.
Li Xiaoduo was also taken away, and Zheng Ming had actually wanted to keep the little girl and ask her about the origin of the pills.
As Zheng Ming let his thoughts wander, he suddenly saw brightness before him, and a breathtakingly beautiful face appeared in his view.
However, shortly after, Zheng Ming's gaze fell on Fu Yuqing's chest, seeing the fragments of flowery cloth, he finally remembered the last color he saw before he fainted.
They're big!
He really had not expected that hidden beneath that flowery cloth was...
"Have you had your fill?" The voice of Fu Yuqing was like a spring, gently entering Zheng Ming's ears. Although Zheng Ming had a strong mind, at that moment, he couldn't help but instinctively say, "I want to see more clearly."
"You'll get a clearer view in your dreams!"
As this sentence was completed, Zheng Ming clearly saw a hint of slyness in Fu Yuqing's eyes. He hadn't even had time to react before he felt darkness overcome him, and then he fainted.
Looking at the fainted Zheng Ming, Fu Yuqing gently patted her own slender palms, then helped Zheng Ming to sit up from the bed before crossing her legs and sitting behind him.
"Lucky you this time, kid!"
As Fu Yuqing's power was exerted, a layer of cyan energy emerged on her originally flawless white palms, and this energy, under the urging of her palms, poured directly into Zheng Ming's body.
In an instant, the entire bed was engulfed by the rolling cyan energy.
When Zheng Ming woke up again, he felt his body was light as a feather, and, unable to resist the urge, he jumped straight up from the bed.
His injuries were not even a concern anymore, and his condition was even better than when he was uninjured.
Although the Peiyuan Pill was good, it didn't have this kind of effect. With thoughts flitting through his mind, Zheng Ming immediately thought of Fu Yuqing.
It must have been his wife who had a hand in it. But was it really necessary to knock him out first?
Zheng Ming complained to himself and then stirred his Inner Strength. As he suspected, his injuries had completely healed, and his Inner Strength had reached the peak of the Twelfth Rank.
One more step, and he would reach the Eleventh Rank. Beyond that, Zheng Ming also felt that his meridians seemed broader than before.
However, Zheng Ming didn't have the time to attend to these changes right now. What mattered most was checking his Prestige Points.
Red Reputation Points two thousand and twenty-four, Yellow Reputation Points one hundred and five!
These numbers left Zheng Ming somewhat disappointed. After all, having defeated Zheng Hu, wouldn't you expect a significant spike in Red Reputation Points?
Two thousand and twenty-four was just too little, wasn't it? That brat Zheng Hu had over eight thousand Red Reputation Points!
But complaining was futile. Having two thousand was better than none at all. Thoughts racing, Zheng Ming considered trying his luck with a couple of random draws.
"Young Master, you're awake... How... How did you get out of bed?" Li Xiaoduo entered carrying a tea tray, and upon seeing Zheng Ming beneath the bed, she urgently chided him.
Zheng Ming, seeing the little girl's concerned expression, didn't have the heart to tease her any longer and said gravely, "I've recovered, so naturally, I won't be lying in bed."
Before Li Xiaoduo could say anything else, Zheng Ming continued in a deep voice, "Tell me, how did I get that Peiyuan Pill that healed my injuries?"
"This... this..." Li Xiaoduo, under Zheng Ming's stern gaze, struggled to find her words for a moment.
Seeing Li Xiaoduo's neck reddening, Zheng Ming was sure the girl must know something.
"Xiao Duo, I know you're a good girl, and good girls usually don't lie," Zheng Ming said to her with a smile.
"Second Young Master, yesterday afternoon, Manager Wang from Medicine King Pavilion came to collect a debt. The Steward said that our Master was thinking of mortgaging our land to Manager Wang, since we couldn't come up with the money, but Manager Wang insisted on using our family's Golden Scale Armor as collateral!"
"Initially, our Master disagreed, but when Manager Wang offered another Peiyuan Pill to help you recover from your injuries sooner, our Master consented."
Reaching this point, Li Xiaoduo continued with some panic, "The Young Mistress said yesterday that we shouldn't talk about this matter, or else there would be severe punishment!"
"Alright, I won't tell anyone!" Zheng Ming's face twisted slightly.
To collect a debt at this time from Medicine King Pavilion! Zheng Ming was aware that his family owed the Medicine King Pavilion a debt.
When they bought the Yellow Earth Pill for his brother, the Zheng Family had spent thirty thousand taels of silver and still owed Medicine King Pavilion ten thousand taels.
At the time, Manager Wang from Medicine King Pavilion assured them that the ten thousand taels were no issue and that the debt could be settled with next year's taxes.
In the past six months, Medicine King Pavilion hadn't mentioned the debt, but now, they came knocking.
Zheng Ming didn't need to think hard about the reason—Medicine King Pavilion must have thought his family had offended the Great Elder and others, so they decided to collect the debt early.
Paying back debts was right, but Medicine King Pavilion's timing angered Zheng Ming.
Moreover, Manager Wang's debt collection was merely a pretext, as his real target was the family's Golden Scale Armor.
That armor had been passed down through generations in the Zheng Family. Zheng Ming remembered that when he was younger, Zheng Gongxuan had proudly told him and his brother Zheng Heng that this Golden Scale Armor was left by an ancestor with Seventh Grade martial prowess and was invaluable—a treasure to be passed down from generation to generation.
But now, his father had used the family heirloom armor as collateral for a debt.
And what's worse, the main value was traded for a Peiyuan Pill for his own benefit.
"Young Master, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now!" Li Xiaoduo said softly, looking at Zheng Ming who was standing to one side, his face overcast.
Zheng Ming nodded, and Li Xiaoduo dashed out of the room like a wounded rabbit.
Zheng Ming was not unfamiliar with Medicine King Pavilion; ever since he was young, Zheng Gongxuan had instructed him that the one place he must never offend in Luming Town was the Medicine King Pavilion.
Welcome to Qidian Chinese Network www.qidian.com, where a vast number of readers come to read the latest, fastest, and hottest serial works! Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.